Leader of Ventura Boys & Girls Clubs prepares to retire

Diane Koranda (second from right) who is retiring as CEO from the Boys &amp; Girls Club of Greater Ventura, watches Gabriella Reyes (seated right) and Andrea Garcia (center) work on decorations for a St. Patrick’s Day parade float. Watching alongside Koranda is Lea Cobb. They were at the group’s Bill LeFevre Center.

Ventura County Star

Diane Koranda (right), who will retire as CEO of the Boys &amp; Girls Club of Greater Ventura, chats with Jade Crumley (left) about a penny drive and an affirmation box project the children are working on at the Bill LeFevre Center.

Ventura County Star

Diane Koranda will be retiring as CEO of the Boys &amp; Girls Club of Greater Ventura after serving the organization for 25 years. Koranda, who began as development director, said one of her plans is to travel to national parks in her retirement.

Ventura County Star

Diane Koranda, who will retire as CEO of the Boys &amp; Girls Club of Greater Ventura, looks at artwork by children at the group’s Bill LeFevre Center.

Ventura County Star

Diana Koranda (center), who will retire as CEO of the Boys &amp; Girls Club of Greater Ventura after 25 years with the organization, enjoys a conversation with club alum Cydnie Gutierrez (right), who came to the group’s Bill LeFevre Center to help as a volunteer. At left is branch director Lea Cobb.

Ventura County Star

When Diane Koranda retires from her role as CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Ventura, daily interaction with staff members and the positive accomplishments with children are the things she'll miss most.

"After 25 years, I feel it is time to do some traveling, see more of our grandchildren in Arizona and get involved in new areas in our community," said Koranda, of Port Hueneme, who will officially retire April 1.

Rest and relaxation are looking better every day, she said.

"We are going to travel in our RV and see as many of the national parks as we can," Koranda said of her future travels with husband Duane Koranda.

The CEO's association with the organization began when she was recruited to join the board of directors.

"Learning about the club in that manner inspired me to want to be more involved with the day-to-day operations and the opportunity to better serve the kids who need us so much," she said.

The Boys & Girls Club of Greater Ventura operates five sites that serve more than 3,500 children.

Two new centers were opened in 2007, one in Oak View and one in a public housing unit on Vince Street, during Koranda's tenure. She considers these among the accomplishments of which she is proudest.

She now is overseeing construction of the E.J. Harrison Family Youth Center, which is scheduled to open in December 2013 in east Ventura.

"I'm especially proud that we are finally completing the construction of a permanent facility in the east end," she said.

Koranda's leadership skills are highly respected by her staff, board and the community, said Nancy Gregg-Keller, director of development and marketing for the Boys & Girls Club.

"Her intelligence, vision and devotion to our kids and staff are extraordinary inspirations for all who work with her," Gregg-Keller said.

Gregg-Keller met Koranda more than 25 years ago in the beginning days of Ventura County Professional Women's Network, of which Koranda was a founding member.

"Her model of integrity and uncompromising standards continue to shape the success models for the hundreds of youth who today are the community's professionals, businesspeople and citizens," Gregg-Keller said.

Under Koranda's guidance, the club was honored for its gang prevention program at the National Youth Gang Symposium by the U. S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in Washington, D.C.

Additionally, the focus of programming from a drop-in center evolved into a true partner in education, Koranda said.

"Our goals are academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles," she said. "We can proudly boast our statistics of a 97 percent high school graduation rate, zero teen pregnancies, 83 percent improved family relations and 91 percent improved self-confidence in our youth."

Koranda's job has focused on the positive development of the whole child, said Jim Duran, executive director of Ventura nonprofit Project Understanding. He has known Koranda for a decade.

"Her vision to empower and develop the whole child has changed the club's focus and has changed the lives of those who attend the club," he said.

An alum of Ventura's Robert Addison Center on Olive Street, Duran said he knows the impact that the Boys & Girls Club can have on a young life.

"Diane's efforts throughout the years have played a major role in academic success of each student," Duran said. "When a child learns how to become a good citizen, the community reaps those benefits for a life time. Diane has done an excellent job and will be missed, but her legacy will live on."